mendiola21

It's better to have a winch and recovery gear and not need it then to need and not have unlike you did that day!

bobbyspaghetti

I don't know if I would agree with 9 out of 10 people don't use their winch. I may agree that 9 out of 10 people don't off-road so maybe that's how that works. I however use my winch all the time. I remove trees from the trail with my winch. I remove trails from my Jeep. I remove my Jeep from the mud. I use my winch a lot. For me my winch gives me the confidence to take on hairy situations. I wheel alone though a fair bit as well. I did winch first and lift second, and wouldn't have changed a thing.

Here is why.

HogHoden

Another vote for winch.

Lift, tires, gears, lockers, etc. are great, but a stock Jeep if still a very capable off-road machine. Plenty capable to get to places to get stuck. And all those other goodies just allow you to get to more places to get stuck.

On my last Jeep, I didn't have a winch. I had a BB with 33's and told myself I didn't need one because I wasn't going to do anything serious enough that I might get stuck. Guess what, I got stuck. Luckily there was someone doing some trail maintenance that had a winch and saved me, but I don't like relying on other people for my own safety. Plus, had I not found someone nice enough to help me, the cost of a tow truck would have been as much or more than the cost of a winch to begin with.

As far as the winch goes, a good rule of thumb is your winch needs to be able to handle 1.5 times the weight of your vehicle (fully loaded with all your gear and a full tank of gas). I have a 10K winch on my JKRU.

dognights

Just to toss out another idea for you. Being as you are leaving the stock front bumper for now anyway. I would buy a nice hand winch for around $250 bucks, get some other straps and such. That would leave money for a lift as well.

A hand winch you can just toss in a recovery bag, you can attach to the front or rear bumper as needed. It can also be used for moving trees real easy. It doesn't require power and it works when you actually need it.

owntmeal4life

Do you have the stock wrangler tires? If so id upgrade your tires that can make a huge difference

2resa

We went with the winch and LOD bumper figuring that I'd rather be able to get out of a spot than look good sitting in it. And that winch got us out twice this past weekend. Ofcourse, going into areas that 4-wheelers wouldn't venture may have been asking for trouble but it sure was fun. The lift is in the pipeline though.

v8zracer260z

Definately a winch first. Safety is always a top concern when wheeling especially with a wife and children are involved. Being you still have your stock wranger tires your are likely to get stuck in the mud as you have posted already. you can't always count on some one being there to pull you out. Get a winch and if you wheel in open areas without trees get an anchor system you can drive in the ground and use as a winch point. As for your question of which winch 8k - 10k the 9k quadratec will do fine. If you get really stuck you can double the winch line and get a 18k pull out of it. Make sure you have a tree saver , a few D rings, a 30' tow strap rated for 30k and a snatch block. If you have a wire cable a set of leather gloves is a must.

JeepingNet

Depends where and who you wheel with..

Winch was one of my first purchases and I've had it on 3 different jeeps now. It is the only good investment I've made with Jeeps

I do hate it when I go out and I'm the only person with a winch.. It can wear out the cable if your are winching all day.. Newbies are always welcomed to hook onto my winch but its the guys that got all the toys but no winch that annoy me.. Especially when they say "Why would I get a winch.. I can use yours.." It is normally the same guy that doesn't have a spare and ends up using mine or ends up using all my tools and does give them back..

That all said if you are new and wheel with guys that have a winches then don't feel like you need a winch right away. Wheel stock for a few runs and then you'll know if you need a winch or lift.

Remember with lift comes tires, with tires comes regearing, with bigger tires comes more upgrades normally..
With winch you'll need a new front bumper

So plan it accordingly..

dshailey

To answer some questions:

1. I normally wheel alone. Have one friend with a winch and one without. But I'm usually heading to the deer lease or somewhere similar without other vehicles to help. Usually wooded / pipeline trails. No rock climbing yet but planning a trip soon.

2. The previous owner put some nice Nitto tires on the jeep, but they are getting to the point of needing replacement. They will last another 10k miles or so, but it won't be long. I surely need the lift before I get new ones to make room for something larger.

If I get the winch now, I'm thinking lift and tires around the beginning of the year (bonus time). Depending on what the kiddos have done to the ole pocketbook by then!

HogHoden is right, I think if I had the lift and larger tires I'd just wind up getting stuck farther down the trail than before. I keep going back to the other day when my wife and I were sitting there waiting on a friend to pull us out. If I would have had the lift, I *may* not have gotten stuck. If I had a winch, I for certain could have gotten out. There's a lot of security in that.

I'm constantly working somewhere outside on our property. I think the winch would come in handy during those times as well.

Sounds like I'm leaning toward the winch. I sure do appreciate the opinions!

I'm beginning to understand the "Just Empty Every Pocket" saying! HA.

dshailey

Dude, that's crazy! Certainly a great argument for having a winch! Love the Jeep color btw.